novelraw Chapter 260: Snow Cloud Commandos (Two-in-One)
Chapter 260: Snow Cloud Commandos (Two-in-One)
"What's wrong? You fellow, always so easily startled. Are you going to take off while engraving a magic?"
Fisher didn't respond to Eimhart's somewhat resentful tone, caused by Fisher ignoring him. He merely raised his index finger gently and placed it before his lips, telling him to shut up quickly. This almost made him bristle with anger again and start a remote argument with Fisher.
But Fisher truly didn't have time to bother with him right now. Besides, even if he ignored him, he would still obnoxiously come over and talk to him later anyway.
There was definitely someone eavesdropping on the conversation here next door. He just didn't know which faction they belonged to, nor did he know whether they were targeting him or the members of the Iceberg Queen.
He didn't speak further, intending to investigate the other party's identity. Thus, he turned around, picked up a newly engraved magic ring, and put it on his hand. As his Mana Circuit activated the magic crest engraved upon it, he gently pressed the ring against the wall before him as well.
Three-ring modern magic, [Warning Transmission].
The effect of this magic could display the outline of distant shapes across space. Also, the position where it leveraged the echo was near the magic crest, not at the observed location. The observed person in the distance would not be able to detect the activation of this magic. Back then, the robot Herdor behind Valentiina had used this thing to lock onto him; it was a necessary tool for casting spells remotely.
Originally, Fisher planned to use it as his "eyes" later when truly exchanging blows with the Naris Overseas Clandestine Affairs Bureau. But since someone was already targeting him right next door, using one first to determine the other party's background was also not bad.
"Buzz, buzz..."
As the light on the ring grew increasingly intense, a milky-white halo undetectable by the naked eye suddenly expanded outwards from Fisher's ring, silently rushing toward the room next door. Everyone present saw that halo gradually disappear into the wall and subsequently outline the structure within the room next door.It was like a two-dimensional world outlined by chalk had suddenly appeared in their eyes. This was Aoxi's first time seeing such a spectacle, so she opened her mouth somewhat in amazement.
Of course, she was even more amazed by the situation inside the room next door.
The room next door had the same layout as the room Alajina booked, neither big nor small. But right now, several faintly glowing machines stood beside the bed in the room. The machines were covered in intricate mechanical parts, just like works of art.
It stood by the window, silently rotating. On top of the machine, a circular mechanism resembling an eye continuously scanned the situation outside the street, just like a fully automatic, intelligent item.
And in the very center of everyone's gaze, just as Fisher had felt in his Soul Vision: right before his eyes, behind the wall next door, a figure roughly only reaching Fisher's chest in height was pressing against the wall, listening to the sounds on this side.
She wore a cafe maid outfit. A pair of fluffy cat ears on her head pressed against the wall, twitching occasionally; it was unknown whether they were more useful than human ears. Because of her listening posture, her body was slightly bent, exposing a fluffy cat tail swaying back and forth behind her.
Sure enough, it's a Cloud Cat-kin maid from the Cloudtop Cafe! And surprisingly, it isn't the one he encountered earlier!
Fisher cast a glance at the face of the Cloud Cat-kin maid who was listening to the situation over here. He discovered that this Cloud Cat-kin maid's hair was quite a bit shorter than the one he encountered previously, and her cheeks were also quite a bit chubbier. Currently maintaining the listening posture, she looked just like a dumpling stuck to a plate, appearing delicate and soft.
Aside from her, sitting on the bed beside those set-up steam machines with his legs crossed, was a male Cloud Cat-kin wearing barista attire. The ears on his head were quite a bit longer than the other Cloud Cat-kin maids, and the tail behind him was also round and chubby, completely unable to discern the shape of a cat tail.
It seems he really poked a Cloud Cat-kin nest this time; the people inside that Cloudtop Cafe are entirely Cloud Cat-kin.
Seeing the situation in the room next door, Fisher's side didn't act rashly in the slightest. Aoxi merely stood up silently from the bed, and Eimhart also stood on Fisher's shoulder and closed his mouth, deeply afraid that an intense firefight would erupt the next moment if he said one more word.
Fisher, however, rarely shifted his gaze away from the demi-humans in the room next door, turning his sight to the machine continuously turning its head in the room instead.
Compared to the Cloud Cat-kin, he was more curious about what exactly that thing was.
Yes, Fisher had never seen that thing, nor did he feel that with the current technological level of the Naris Royal Academy or the Schwari Sun Academy, they could build a machine of such a high-end level.
When he was in school, he had taken a few mechanical research courses at the Royal Academy. The professors' definition for steam machinery was "steam-powered mechanical tools." They already had widespread applications in fields such as transportation vehicles, weapons, and prosthetics. But Fisher believed that even after so many years, it was absolutely impossible for a bizarre thing that could automatically rotate and observe the external environment to appear.
Previously, seeing the Herdor beside Valentiina—which was entirely composed of steam machinery—was already somewhat outrageous. At that time, Fisher thought that thing was created by a relic. Could it be that the group of guys next door was also using relics?
Behind him, Aoxi extended her wings and gently swept them across her cloak. The daggers hanging inside the cloak seemed to come alive, flying backwards toward her wings and landing accurately in sequence within the gaps between her feathers.
From the outside, this relic made it look like her wings were draped with a layer of cyan, chilling raiment. What a pity, even if she equipped all the daggers from the cloak onto her body, they could only cover the very front-most part of her wings.
Waiting for the raiment to be ready, Aoxi looked at the still-thinking Fisher before the desk, seeming to wait for his opinion.
But he shook his head at Aoxi. At the same time, he put another ring on the middle finger of his right hand and subsequently pressed his hand against the wall again. His meaning was:
"I'll do it."
As the ring in his hand lit up with light, transparent threads seemingly imbued with thought extended from the wall. Because the location where the magic crest took effect was very close to the wall, Weaver could directly generate on the wall of the opposing room.
As the transparent threads connected to the ring pierced into the room next door, the voices of conversation over there were also captured by Fisher.
"Tsk, when did an extra magician appear on the Iceberg Queen? Graving magic for so long too, my waist is about to get sore from crouching..."
"Focus, Arinur. It's very important that Alajina left the two of them here, especially since that man is even her paramour; we must wait for her return here... Now is not the time to run around carelessly. Just now when Ellen went out to buy bread, you should have kept an eye on her."
"I know I was wrong... Hehe, right, brother, you don't know what just happened. Alajina's Second Mate actually has an affair with that man in private. I feel like Alajina should have a hat put on her head, the green kind."
"Arinur, focus. Don't mind matters outside the mission, this gossip has nothing to do with us... Oh, but people from the Sardin Matriarchy are very loyal, how could such a thing happen?"
"See, I told you it was especially interesting right..."
Slander! They're slandering me!
Hearing the dialogue over there, Fisher's eyes instantly turned into dead fish eyes. For a moment, he didn't know how to evaluate the other party's naked slander either.
He hadn't done anything to Aoxi just now.
The falsely accused Fisher wasn't in a very good mood. The next second, with a flick of his finger, the sensation of his Mana Circuit extended along Weaver, probing the magic composition in the other party's room...
Very quickly, Fisher discovered that there was absolutely no magic on their bodies—neither for communication nor for attack. He merely discovered a dagger hidden similarly under the skirt of the Cloud Cat-kin maid named "Arinur", and a musket placed beside the hand of the Cloud Cat-kin who seemed to be her brother.
As for that strange machine placed by the bed, it seemed to only have the function of scouting for external enemies. It didn't even detect Fisher extending his magic into their room...
Since that was the case, Fisher wouldn't hold back. It just so happened he also had a few small matters he wanted to understand from the other party.
After confirming the other party had no strong countermeasure methods, Fisher deftly manipulated the transparent Weaver in his hands with his fingers. First, he entangled that bizarre machine.
The male Cloud Cat-kin sitting on the bed next door was still smoking a cigarette. But just in the corner of his eye as he lit the cigarette, he suddenly discovered that the machine distributed by the agency for them to use on missions had suddenly stopped rotating. Moreover, it didn't seem like an internal malfunction, but more like... it was stuck?
He narrowed his eyes, his gaze passing through the dissipating smoke by the window and landing on the surface of the machine. Only after pausing for several seconds did he suddenly see fine, nearly transparent threads tightly entangling the machine, unknown when they had appeared.
"Crap, Arinu..."
His expression changed, quickly realizing something. Just as he was about to stand up and grab the musket beside him, he discovered that his left leg and right hand were suddenly moving out of his control towards opposite directions. He turned his head to look, and unknown when, transparent threads were also entangled upon them.
"Brother, there's... something..."
He looked towards his sister with a face full of terror, only to see her entire person directly hoisted against the wall by those transparent threads completely out of control, unable to move at all.
Neck, chest, lower abdomen, limbs...
Those damned transparent threads were all over Arinur's body. The next moment, the threads in the entire room became active, pulling Arinur toward the ceiling just like a puppeteer hoisting a marionette.
"Ugh ah! Brother Blair, he... they discovered us..."
"Zzz, zzz, zzz!"
Blair's pupils shrank. Just as those transparent threads were about to replicate that marionette hoisting operation on his body, his entire body twisted in mid-air like an agile cat, tumbling out from the restraint of the threads at a bizarre angle.
He grabbed the dagger strapped to his pant leg with one hand and threw it toward the threads binding Arinur, attempting to free one of his sister's hands so she could draw the weapon under her skirt to save herself.
"Bang!"
"Ah!"
But right when the dagger left his hand, the room's main door was violently smashed open. Following the assault of a fierce gust of wind, Blair—just like crashing into a storm—slammed straight into immense force. His entire person was sent flying backward uncontrollably, his head knocking against the room's wall.
In the center of the room, amidst the countless glowing threads, Aoxi, who was folding her cyan wings, had a subtle surge in her gaze as she looked down at Blair from above.
"Zzz, zzz, zzz!"
As Fisher's fingers in the room next door gradually exerted force, the machine standing by the window was also gradually pulled apart by his threads, bursting with flickering electrical arcs and sizzling sounds that frightened Aoxi into taking a step or two back.
"Warning... warning... zzz..."
This... steam machine, can talk?!
Looking at the machine continuously flickering with electrical arcs, Aoxi didn't dare to act rashly. Only when Fisher, carrying Eimhart on his shoulder, walked into the room with a frown did she lean a bit closer to his side.
Countless transparent threads began to dissipate, retracting bit by bit into the ring on Fisher's hand, waiting for his next awakening.
The Weaver magic was low cost, highly durable, and very convenient to use; it was simply a genius design.
Fisher evaluated his own designed magic like this.
"Brother!"
"Ugh... my head..."
Fisher ignored the two Cloud Cat-kin successfully ambushed by him. He felt the combat ability of these two Cloud Cat-kin wasn't strong; Fisher deduced their ranks hadn't even reached the Transcendent Rank. So, he first placing his gaze on the machine by the window that was continuously flickering with electrical arcs and had even started vocalizing malfunction reports...
What exactly is this thing?
"Eimhart, have you seen this thing before?"
"No... never. Good heavens, who exactly built this? It's too miraculous. Look, there's even light flickering on it... Wait, could it be the Holy Progeny! They still exist... No, that's not right, this thing is far too ugly, it doesn't fit the aesthetics of the Holy Progeny. It couldn't have been built by them."
Carrying the unexpanded Fluid Sword in his hand, Fisher walked up to the device continuously flickering with electrical arcs. He saw that within the outer shell of that strange device, some kind of deep red light seemed to be flowing. Through the gap just pulled apart by Weaver, he suddenly saw that in the center of the device, there seemed to be a bizarre component emitting red light.
That component was like the heart of the entire device, from which extended quite a few hose-like lines connecting to various parts of the device. But due to Fisher's attack just now, several obvious gaps had appeared on that core component, and deep blue electrical arcs continuously shot out from within them.
As time ticked by, the light of that core grew dimmer and dimmer, dragging the entire device down with it to turn into a pile of useless gears and iron plates as if it had devolved...
And Fisher was very clear: relying solely on these gears couldn't assemble such a device. The block of core in the very center that truly played a role... that thing wasn't an ordinary object, and certainly wasn't a relic or magic... This kind of technology far surpassing the era, Fisher had only seen it on Pherone and Erwind.
He was certain this was a masterpiece of the Completion Handbooks.
"Ugh, fuck, my head..."
Right at this moment, the Cloud Cat-kin Blair, who had been overturned by the strong wind carried by Aoxi, sat up from the mess on the bed while clutching his head. Aoxi cast a glance at him, walked to the room's doorway, and closed the door to prevent the situation here from being noticed by more people.
And sitting up from the mess while clutching the ears on top of his head, the first thing Blair saw was the man squatting on the floor, sizing up their machine with a stern expression. He suddenly opened his mouth, and asked in somewhat rusty Northern Border language with a strange accent.
"Two questions: where did this thing come from? Also, why were you monitoring us?"
It wasn't until that man turned his head to look at him that Blair suddenly discovered an unexpected book with only one eye and one mouth, wearing the same stern expression as this man, was actually standing on his right shoulder...
Mhm, at this very moment, that book was also looking at him strictly.
It was just that the man's aura was truly a bit terrifying at this moment, frightening the ears on his head into twitching. He cast a glance at Aoxi—who was staring at himself and his sister still hanging on the ceiling—and confirmed that this fellow was precisely the paramour of Alajina they had eavesdropped on just now, and the magic assault they suffered was also accomplished by him.
It seems this paramour of Alajina isn't a simple character either...
"Eavesdropping? We came to protect your safety! The Iceberg Queen shouldn't have come here at this time, it's simply adding chaos to chaos. Originally, when your captain came here, we should have contacted her to tell her the current situation of this island, but who knew she would leave so fast? We can't move around recklessly, and can only wait for her return here!"
Blair rubbed his shoulder. Seeing Fisher's expression hadn't changed at all, he knew he didn't believe his rhetoric in the slightest. Thus, Blair had no choice but to look towards the machine that had already been broken by Weaver, saying with considerable heartache:
"As for this thing... this is a mission auxiliary equipment purchased by our [Snow Cloud Commandos]. Ordinary people won't see it, and I also don't know its working principles."
"Purchased... purchased from where?"
"How would I know? I'm just a guy eating the government's food... By the way, how long do you plan on hanging my sister up?"
No one responded to Blair's question. Instead, it was Aoxi behind Fisher who turned her head around upon hearing the term "Snow Cloud Commandos", seeming to recognize the agency they belonged to.
"Hah, so it's this bunch of guys. Has this bunch of guys already become so down-and-out that they have to recruit demi-humans to do their work..."
Eimhart, who had maintained a stern expression just a second ago, immediately became a living treasure upon hearing Blair's words. Blinking his eye, he used his drake voice to quietly mutter a sentence to Fisher.
"You know them?"
"Ah, you are a Naris person, it's normal not to be clear about it, or rather, even some Northern Border locals don't recognize them... Mya, a small country located in the northern part of the Northern Border, the area near the Sema Mountains. The country is small and its affairs are small, so their intelligence agency naturally isn't known to people."
"However, as the country closest to the Turan Family, they haven't shirked on receiving funding from the Turan Family. Since the past, the Snow Cloud Commandos have had weapons and equipment comparable to the intelligence agency of the Sardin Matriarchy... But in any case, these things they have now are a bit too outrageous..."
Nonsense, not a single thing created by the Completion Handbooks isn't outrageous.
However, Fisher had only heard the name of this country Mya before, and didn't understand other related matters. They were a far distance from the Sardin Matriarchy, let alone Naris.
But since Mya and the Turan Family had an unclear and indescribable relationship, could it be possible that this thing was purchased from the Turan Family?
Not receiving an answer, Fisher rubbed the space between his eyebrows with a headache. The problem he faced right now was: if there was another Completion Handbook holder in the Northern Border, then he would have to consider whether he should continue heading to the Northern Border.
Facing two Completion Handbook owners at the same time was no joke, it would very likely lead to him dying without a place for burial. Fisher couldn't take this kind of risk.
But if he didn't go to the Northern Border, wouldn't the Snow Mountain Familiars and these seals he had collected previously become completely useless?
Fisher let out a sigh, temporarily suppressing the dilemma at the bottom of his heart, and turned his head to look at the male Cloud Cat-kin wearing barista attire beside him.
This guy had short-cropped white hair. Unlike female Cloud Cat-kin, he surprisingly had quite a bit of cat fur, clearly distinct from hair, growing on both sides of his cheeks, as well as on the back of his hands. It appeared that the fur of male Cloud Cat-kin would be more vigorous than females.
"You came for that item taken away by the Nazarene Development Company?"
Blair was just about to continue saying something, but his expression immediately turned shocked upon hearing Fisher's words.
"You... you know? No, listen to me, this matter isn't that simple. It's not just the Nazarene Development Company, behind them there's also..."
"There's also official Naris people. Let me guess, the Naris Overseas Clandestine Affairs Bureau?"
Blair opened his mouth. He didn't say any "You know again?" words, but rather blankly added a sentence.
"And the knightly order of the Sardin Matriarchy."
"The Sardin Matriarchy?"
Fisher's expression changed slightly. He truly hadn't expected this thing to actually be related to the Sardin Matriarchy as well. He pondered in his mind for several seconds, suddenly realizing something, and turned his head to ask Blair.
"Wait, what exactly is the item taken away by the Nazarene Development Company?"
"...True Ice, and a very large chunk of True Ice, dug out from a Cangniao-kin tomb. Before we discovered the tomb was robbed and rushed over to stop it, they had already taken that chunk of True Ice out of Mya."
After hearing his words, Fisher suddenly understood what exactly Naris wanted to do.
Simply put: Naris funded the excavation of a precious chunk of True Ice in Mya, and turned around wanting to sell it to the Sardin Matriarchy people in the Northern Border.
Of course, the purpose was more than just making money.
Because although things like True Ice could be considered precious, it had no other use for Naris people other than putting it back into a museum. But to these countries that worshipped the Frost Phoenix, True Ice proving the existence of the Phoenix was undoubtedly a holy relic in a religious sense...
And this item originally belonged to Mya, but was now being resold by Naris to the Sardin Matriarchy. Even if you beat Fisher to death, he wouldn't believe Naris' intentions were unintentional.
"Listen, you don't know how serious this matter is... True Ice is extremely important to us, or to the Northern Border. Once this thing falls into the hands of the Sardin Matriarchy, the consequences will be unimaginable. It will be a revolution on a religious level! Do you know how many people in the Northern Border believe in the Phoenix? If True Ice appears in the world, it will be as terrifying as the descent of your West Continent's Mother Goddess."
Fisher knew what Blair meant. Even though he knew the Mother Goddess might truly exist, currently, the West Continent—even Kadu—didn't possess a single genuine item used by the Mother Goddess...
If a divine artifact personally used by the Mother Goddess were to descend upon the West Continent right now, Naris and Schwari might be okay, but those countries east of Kadu would truly stir up a reign of terror once again.
Fisher couldn't evaluate religious matters well, but he absolutely couldn't deny its hidden immense power. This logic was universal in the Northern Border.
"Originally, we wanted to snatch that chunk of True Ice back from the Naris people here. But we didn't expect they surprisingly weren't preparing to transport it to the Sardin Matriarchy, but rather directly called them over to pick up the goods... But don't forget, the Iceberg Queen is currently wanted by the Sardin Matriarchy, and the people coming to pick up the goods are the Co-Ruler's [Phoenix Knights]. With their strength and style, they absolutely won't let off a criminal like Alajina."
Phoenix Knights—the best-equipped and strongest knights under the matriarchy. He had heard that every one of them possessed strength surpassing ordinary people, and their equipment was procured without regard for cost. If they were the ones coming to receive this chunk of True Ice, then the situation would indeed become especially troublesome.
"So, you want to cooperate with us?"
According to the original plan of the Mya Snow Cloud Commandos, they wanted to snatch back that chunk of True Ice themselves. Who knew that the powerful Phoenix Knights would interject midway? Having no choice, they could only use local resources and prepare to seek cooperation from Alajina, who was similarly at odds with the Sardin Matriarchy.
As the saying goes: the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
"It's a win-win, I... wait, my tail! Ah, fuck! So painful!"
Blair was just about to say something when Fisher saw a slender wisp of smoke slowly rising from behind him, accompanied by the smell of something burnt.
Following closely after, his expression suddenly changed, jumping up violently from the floor, continuously reaching out to swat his own butt.
Fisher suddenly remembered: before Aoxi barged into the room just now, this cat had been smoking. Aoxi's wing had overturned both him and his cigarette. He had been completely engrossed in speaking with himself, completely unaware of when the cigarette had fallen beneath him and set his butt on fire.
"Rippp~"
Blair in front bounced in place clutching his burning tail. Behind him, his sister Arinur—who was being watched by Aoxi—wasn't faring any better.
She had been constantly suspended by Fisher's Weaver. It was unknown whether it was due to her weight or the material of her maid outfit, but while being suspended, her clothes were actually being torn apart at the seams by Fisher's Weaver!
"Ugh ah! Wait, my clothes, wait..."
This sudden situation instantly made the atmosphere in the room awkward. Fisher looked speechlessly at these two "agents" from Mya in the room. One was bouncing all over the place clutching a fiery tail, while the other tearfully and flushedly watched her clothes split apart bit by bit...
Why did it feel like cooperating with them wasn't reliable at all?